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Not all Irishman like beer

I have a confession to make. I don't like beer. Not green beer, not amber or dark ales, not weird red beers or any other beers of any shade that smell like or taste like beer.

Except for a brief period in my misspent youth when beer, I doubt I've consumed much more than a pint over a lifetime. For me, St. Patrick's Days have mostly been spent wearing green and observing others as they celebrate all things Irish by swilling green beer with wild abandon.

It is said that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and said most frequently, I suspect, by those who are Irish at heart only and not by ancestry. When said repeatedly while wielding one of those yard-long vessels filled with green beer, the words get a little slurry, but the sentiment is clear. Everyone wants to be a little bit Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

My dislike for green beer aside, I actually am a little bit Irish, along with an improbable mix of Dutch, Welsh, German, English and Native American. My nice husband, who likes beer, green or otherwise, is Scotch Irish with a family crest. Well, it is a family crest that one of his brothers sent away for, just as anyone of any sort of ancestry can, but he has one. He was actually hoping for more Scottish in his family tree. He has the sort of manly build that kilts look the best on and he knows it.

Having done the sort of geeky research that I am known for, I learned that St. Patrick wasn't Irish by birth at all. St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain around 385 AD. He was kidnapped from his wealthy Christian family by Irish pagan raiders at the age of 16 and made a shepherd slave in Gaelic Ireland. After making his escape, he returned to his homeland, became a priest and was determined to return to the land of his captors and convert them from their Druidism since he had learned their nearly impossible to translate Gaelic language. He was mostly successful in his quest, St. Patrick, with a couple of caveats. There never were and never have been snakes for St. Patrick to have driven from Ireland. Snakes were a symbol used widely to describe the Druids St. Patrick was trying to convert. There are still Druids, pagans, Wiccans and Shamans observing their ancient traditions and making up some new ones along the way, in Ireland and just about everywhere else. Some of them might even be found at a local pub on Tuesday wearing shamrocks and enjoying a pint or so of green beer.

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day and all things Irish seems as good a way to spend a Tuesday as any I can think of. I hope that your Irish eyes are smilin' on Tuesday, whether you are a little or a lot, or just wishfully Irish.